The Paradox Of Choice

Is it just me or is there way too many Android phones, and nothing that really makes any of them stand out?

When I walk down the street I can immediately spot people playing on their iPhones, but I am always left wondering about the others I see tapping and swiping away on something in their hands. Is it an Android phone? If so which one?

Up until now most handset makers have tried a shotgun approach - throw as many slightly different handsets out as possible and hope one hits. The main differentiators up until now have primarily been slight changes in screen size, and hardware specs. Neither of which are ever going to be exclusive to one manufacturer, so we end up with the arms race we have now.

Android is a fantastic operating system, and is only going to get better, but it lacks three compelling features that I think handset makers need to start thinking about if they want to stand out.

• Connectivity
• Clear handset upgrade path
• Software is the main attraction

By connectivity I mean that I want my phone, my tablet and my computer to all play nicely with each other. Apple already does this and it is one of their more popular features. You can stream or send content quickly and easily from your iPhone to an iPad or to and from your computer and even an apple tv.

I know the thought of this probably makes CEO's everywhere foam at the mouth, but why don't you all show the same level of collaboration that you are on Android and the Linux Kernel (most Android handset makers support Linux in a huge way - thanks folks!) and make your devices talk seamlessly to those from other companies.

Let an HTC phone stream video to a Galaxy tab and so on. If you don't start talking to each other, then someone is going to start doing it instead and you will lose in the long run.  We are entering the age of the internet of things, not the age of the internet of "my things" and "their things".

As for the clear upgrade path, for an iPhone user, when the time comes to replace your phone - namely when the contract runs out - Apple is standing there like some great fruity butler : "Your new phone sir/maam". There is no thinking, no comparing specs, no worrying if you can understand and use this particular flavor of iOS or any other concerns. Just a nice sheepy "baa baa, thanks James" and on to the next hyper expensive product (after a visit to bank to get a second mortgage first).

If only Android manufacturers could get this right they would gain themselves some long term dedicated customers. Right now the upgrade paths look more like trees, with each generation sporting seemingly dozens of off shoots, none of which is a clear inheritor.

Luckily it seems that one maker is finally getting the picture: HTC apparently plans to release fewer Android models this year, and hopefully put more effort into each of those. Yay!

Software. Software. Software. Do I need to keep repeating it? The endless race for ever so slightly better hardware than the opposition will continue indefinitely and with no clear winner. But it is the software that makes the real difference. It is here that the biggest gains can be made.

iPhones contain good hardware, but they are often behind many Android handsets when you start counting Hz and Gbs, yet they remain wildly popular. Why? The software stands out.

So carriers, please stop inflicting your problems onto handset makers and forcing them to junk up the OS so much that they can't upgrade it and owners can't use it.

Handset makers I implore you also, make one or two versions only, stick with them, update them and make them work across all your phones.

This ties in with the clear upgrade path above. It makes very, very good business sense to get users addicted to your phone OS by keeping it updated, clean and powerful, even if their phone is a few years old. Once you start dropping support for 6 month and 12 month old phones, and stop upgrading their OS, you are basically saying to the customer "thanks for the money. Now go away, we don't need you anymore".

What effect is that going to have on customer loyalty do you think? (hint: not good)

Android has a very bright future, as much as Apple rages against it, but I feel that this future could be accelerated by some shifts in how manufacturers produce their phones. I want to see these shifts so that we can all benefit.